Like a Mermaid from the Sea
by Evangeline.Martin
Summary: After solving the Secret of the Scarlet Hand, Nancy and Henrik have a moment together in the laboratory before the opening of the Mayan exhibit.


Nancy was morose. The Beech Hill exhibit on the ancient Maya was opening that day and she would soon be returning to River Heights, leaving Washington D.C. and her many new friends. She sat at her desk in the bright laboratory looking over her checklist one last time. Everything was neatly checked off in blue ink, black ink, and now in pencil. All her tasks were finished; all that remained was to join Joanna Riggs and the other Beech Hill employees in welcoming the first visitors to the most comprehensive exhibition of Mayan artifacts ever collected in one place.

It was with Nancy's discovery of the Whisperer's tomb, however, and her account of Mayan daily life that really put Beech Hill on the map. Alejandro del Rio, from the Mexican consulate, had made sure Nancy, Henrik van der Hune, and even Joanna had received commendations from the Mexican government for their help in returning valuable artifacts to Mexico, not to mention the priceless information uncovered within the monolith. It had been a busy few weeks but nothing had proved more exciting yet. Nancy longed to stay but knew she couldn't. She needed mystery in her life and with this mystery solved Beech Hill was likely to be a very normal place, at least for awhile.

Slowly Nancy got up, hands gripping the cold metal desk. It was nearly ten a.m., opening time. She walked to the door of the empty lab but stopped before opening it. When she reached out a hand to open the door she noticed she was still wearing her lab coat, a gift from Henrik, over her red Beech Hill polo and black skirt. As she walked over to the coat rack in the corner to hang her lab coat up the door opened.

"Nancy! I was just coming to find you. Joanna is panicking about the opening and wants her deputy curator." Henrik closed the heavy door. Nancy was pleased to see him. After all, she had helped him regain his memory. It was her name he remembered when he had forgotten even his own. Each time they spoke, Nancy's heart swelled with pride.

The lab coat was both a thank you and a congratulations. "For the finest deputy curator Beech Hill has ever seen," Henrik had told her as he handed her the box. When Nancy had tried to shrug off the gift he had insisted. "It is really the least I could do for the woman who saved my life. I know it isn't much compared to the glory of discovering the Whisperer or even the many opportunities having a successful curatorship behind you at such a young age will open up for you." Nancy had put the flatteringly cut lab coat on as soon as it was unwrapped. Henrik stood admiring her for a moment before speaking again. "Marvelous, Nancy. You look so…professional."

Now she stood facing him. She had forgotten her lab coat completely. The memories of those hospital visits filled her mind. All she could see was that memory board, "Henrik van der Hune, 61 ½, divorced, no children." It was a moment before she realized Henrik was waiting for her to speak.

"Oh, I was just going out to join you." Nancy glanced at her watch. "We still have twenty minutes before opening." Remembering her lab coat she pulled it off slowly. She hung it next to Henrik's much larger one before sitting on the edge of her desk.

"I'm going to miss you, Nancy," Henrik said quietly. "It has been more than a pleasure working with you these past few weeks. You are quiet, helpful, and organized. Frankly, when you were hired all I was hoping was for someone, anyone, who was an improvement on Sonny Joon. That young man was trouble. You were more than I could ever have hoped for."

Nancy blushed at his praise. Men often noticed her and she was used to flirtation. Back in River Heights everyone thought she was likely to marry her on again off again high school boyfriend, Ned. Ned was sweet but with her constant travels they never had time to be together. Before she left for Washington D.C. they had agreed to a break. Ned said he didn't want to compete with whoever she met in her most recent glamorous job. He had been right, the subway was full of men of varying degrees of creepiness hitting on her. Even Alejandro del Rio, a man many would consider handsome, had made a few flirtatious comments. To him she was a mermaid or a princess but to Henrik she was a hard worker and a life saver.

"That means a lot to me, Henrik," she replied, looking down at her shoes. The patent leather heels reflected the white light of the lab and Nancy focused on the tiny sparkles, her eyes examining her legs. Her shins beneath her black skirt seemed paler than usual but she found a discolored spot, a bruise from her time trapped in the monolith, to focus on. She wasn't sure where the conversation was headed but she did know it could go to any number of new places. "I'm glad I could help."

She looked up from her bruise to see Henrik watching her. "Nancy, believe me when I say I've never met a woman as marvelous as you. I'll always remember what you've done for me."

"Henrik, it's no more than any decent person would've done." She met his eyes, looking up into his expressive, intelligent face. It wasn't so long ago that she arrived at Beech Hill and entered this laboratory for the first time. Henrik's face had been hidden then, covered by a mask to shield it from dust.

"You're more than any decent person, Nancy. You're a force of nature. Where Sonny was a hurricane, you are an April rain shower or a double rainbow…beautiful, rejuvenating, and you make the flowers grow." He moved closer to her, a movement strangely both forceful and gentle.

"Henrik…" was all Nancy managed to say before he was there, kissing her.

The kiss was soft and quick, tentative but determined. Henrik pulled away from her, his hand grazing her cheek as he straightened. Nancy didn't allow herself to think before acting. She reached up, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him back in for another kiss. Nancy wasn't quite sure how it happened but when the door opened a few minutes later she was sitting in Henrik's lap and the phone that was on her desk had fallen to the floor, the voice of the message woman repeating obnoxiously over and over again, "You have no new messages. Press 9 for an outside line."

"Henrik, Nancy? Are you in here? It's five minutes to ten and everything is going wrong! I half expect my neighbor to call and tell me my cat set my apartment on fire." Joanna Riggs came into the lab just as Henrik and Nancy disentangled themselves, Henrik standing up next to the desk, coughing to cover up the noise the phone was making.

"We're here, Joanna. What seems to be the problem?" Nancy smiled as she followed Joanna out of the lab and into the museum, Henrik quickly fixing the phone and following close behind.


End file.
